Workers across Virginia are about to get a new guarantee — a paystub showing how their salary was calculated and what kind of withholdings were taken out.
Many low-wage workers in Virginia have no idea if Social Security is being taken out of their paycheck. They’re not really sure what their hourly wage is. And they don’t know if their employer is skimming off the top. But Governor Ralph Northam recently signed a bill requiring most employers to provide paystubs to employees showing how their salary is calculated.
“What kind of deductions are being taken out, and are there illegal deductions being taken out? So it allows people to check and make sure that their paycheck is right and fair and legal,” says Kim Bobo, executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.
That’s for most people, anyway. During the General Assembly session, farmworkers were excluded.
Ben Hoyne at the Interfaith Center says that change was something advocates had to swallow to get the bill to the governor’s desk.
“That amendment was necessary in order to pass the bill," he says.
"So we kind of determined that if we could get 95% of the way there for workers this year then our hope is that next year to try to eliminate the amendment.”
The new law will go into effect January of next year, giving employers more than enough time to change their payroll system and get everything ready for the next fiscal year.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
